The singlehanding dilemma

On the one hand it is one of the most inspiration parts of our sport - on the other it is technically illegal. James Boyd reports

Ellen at Kingfisher 's chart table, showing the vast array of nav equipment at the singlehanders disposal

Offshore Challenge's Mark Turner says, despite the collision regulations, out on the water the occasions when ships alter course to avoid a sailing vessel are few. But it gets worse. "We all know there are cargo ships out on the ocean on autopilot with no one actively watching," he maintains, stating a view shared by many who return from the high seas with tales of passing ships where the bridge seems to be deserted and who fail to respond when called up on VHF. That a highly focused (and it can be assumed, reasonably nervous) solo sailor can be the major danger element on the ocean is absurd, compared to these rogue commercial vessels, he feels.

From the solo ocean racer's side, they do all they can to ensure that a collision does not take place. If they have to sleep they 'catnap' - many are trained how to do this by sleep experts - the length of which depends upon the individual sailor, the length of the race and the perceived risk of collision.

In the Solitaire du Figaro race for example, where legs are around two to four days duration around the Bay of Biscay, Channel and Irish Sea where there is a lot of shipping, diligent competitors will sleep in 15 minute bursts - if indeed they sleep at all. This is short enough to take avoiding action if a ship steams over the horizon on a collision course. On the Vendee Globe, where sailors can be at sea for three months or more and the risk of collision on 95% of the course is remote, the sailors allow themselves to sleep for longer. "When a solo sailor goes to sleep there is a risk, but I don't think those risks are significantly different to those on the bridge of a cargo ship," maintains Turner.

In this day and age where yachts are teeming with electronic gadgetry, there is an argument that an electronic watch could be adequate.

Pleasure boat radar technology has improved greatly in the last decade or so in its sensitivity and reliability. Even most basic sets now have a proximity alarm, so that if another vessel encroaches within a defined 'guard zone' then the radar sounds an alarm. There are also a number of other items of dedicated collision avoidance equipment such as the Collision Avoidance Radar Detector (CARD). This is more suitable for smaller craft and will not only sound an alarm if it detects a radar signal, but will show the direction from which the radar pulse came.

An even more dramatic improvement recently has come with the introduction of many commercially available 'active' radar reflectors. These include Pains Wessex's Ocean Sentry, the Sea-Me, Hydrosphere's Rad-Star and Activ' Echo, which most of the French Open 60s and trimarans use. These devices detect a radar pulse, then automatically bounce them back amplified. They show up as a larger ‘blip’ on a ship’s radar screen compared to passive octahedral or ‘array’-type reflectors and are visible from a greater range.

So if singlehanded sailing does not conform to the letter of the law - and to be frank there is no way offshore yacht racing, be it solo or fully crewed, nor offshore power boat racing comply with rule 6 of the Regulations governing 'safe speed' - then is it at least safe? And is it any less safe than a crew of unqualified yachtsmen taking a cruising boat across the Channel in fog?

Tomorrow we look at what could be done to develop singlehanded offshore racing talent in the UK.